When You're Nowhere
by Wisterian Princess
Summary: Clary, her Mom, and Luke move into a large house in the mountains that they share with about a dozen people. One of those people is Jace, a player who starts to fall for the one girl who isn't head-over-heels for him. Clary has fallen for Jace, but won't admit it because she knows he can't be what she wants- or can he? All-Human
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! For those of you who don't know, I'm Wisterian Princess. I write a lot of Mortal Instruments FanFictions, and I make playlists for the, etc.**

**This story was based off of a dream I had a while back, but I forgot it unfortunetly :( I did, however, write a couple of things down, enough to write chapter one!**

**Okay, I'll shut up now so you can get to the fic. Enjoy!**

* * *

Luke's old pickup truck jostled around as they went over the curvy mountain path. As it did, Clary struggled not to bump into Luke. It wouldn't be good to ram your shoulder into the driver.

"Oh my," Jocelyn laughed, "the terrain's _bumpy_."

Luke chuckled. "Something to get used to." He glanced over at Clary, whose expression was blank as she stared at the crack in the windshield intently. "Oh come on, Clary," he said, "are you going to be mad at us _forever_?"

Clary crossed her arms over her chest, not answering.

Luke let out an exasperated sigh.

"How about some music?" Jocelyn suggested, turning on the radio.

Tim McGraw's _Highway Don't Care_ came on, and Clary sighed. The radio DJ in her old neighborhood was DJ Bat, who had _much_ better taste than this. This song only reminded Clary that she was moving, and that her best friend, Simon, was a six hour drive away.

The road was winding, and curving around cliff edges and trees. Clary could see through the gaps in the trees the true expanse of the mountain. She suddenly wanted to draw it.

The song became fuzzy on the radio, and after a minute, it was all static. Luke shut it off. "That'd be the mountains. There'll be no radio up here I guess," he chuckled.

A surge of fear and panic suddenly ran through Clary. She took out her phone, and checked for reception. There was _none_.

"No," Clary whispered. How was she supposed to be able to contact Simon if there was no reception? She slammed her head on the back of the seat and closed her eyes, trying not to lose it. She'd _liked_ where they'd been living before, and didn't understand why they had to move to the middle of nowhere, into a house full of other people.

"Cheer up, Clary," said Luke, "you don't need a radio. I heard the boys there formed a band, and there's a recording studio set up in the basement."

Clary groaned inwardly. _Just_ what she needed; a group of teenage boys playing loud, awful music out here. All music out here was awful, she decided.

"Oh my goodness, we're here!" Jocelyn squealed, obviously very excited.

Clary looked out the front window. There was a white-gray house in a clearing, surrounded by monsterous trees that literally touched the sky. There was a fallen tree in the expansive front area, and a few cars parked side-by-side.

Luke pulled up beside one of them, parking the truck. "Alright," he said, "we're here."

Jocelyn got out the passenger door and stretched. It had been a long car ride.

Luke got out his side, and walked around to where Jocelyn was. He put his arm around her waist, and began talking excitedly to her.

Clary didn't listen to what they were saying. She was looking at the lack of reception she got on her phone, muttering curses under her breath at it as she tried to compose a message to Simon. It didn't send, and she angrily stuffed her phone back into her pocket, unfastened her seat belt, and climbed out. She'd been sitting on her legs, so when she stepped out, she realized how numb they felt, and fell onto the ground, growling as the pins and needles assaulted her legs.

"Clary, we're going to go meet them," said Jocelyn. "Come in when you're ready." Luke and Jocelyn walked toward the house that Clary instantly hated. She wouldn't have hated it if the circumstances were different, though. It was a nice house; tall, wide, and almost Victorian-looking. It may have been a good thing to draw. Maybe Clary _would _once her sketchbook was unpacked.

Clary used the car to stand herself up, brushing off the dirt that was now on her clothes, and pulled a dead leaf out of her right side braid. She angrily slammed the front door and stomped across the too long front yard to the front door, and paused before the front porch steps. She closed her eyes, and took a few slow, deep breaths, attempting to calm herself.

She slowly stepped up the blue-gray porch steps, and walked through the front door. The house didn't look bad. The wallpaper was white, with the outline of red roses all over it. Near the front door, there was a small, dark wood hutch with a blue vase holding a few white flowers that Clary couldn't name.

She heard the sound of Luke and Jocelyn's voices from down the hall, and walked nervously further into the house.

Down the hall lead to the kitchen, where Luke and Jocelyn were chatting animatedly with a dark haired woman. Clary paused, nervously fiddling with one of her braids.

The dark haired woman looked at her. "Ah," she said, "you must be Clarissa."

Luke and Jocelyn turned and saw Clary, standing in the middle of the hallway like an idiot. "Clary," said Jocelyn, "so nice of you to join us." She looked back at the woman. "Maryse, this is my daughter, Clary. Clary, this is Maryse Lightwood, she owns the house."

Clary nodded at her, not feeling friendly enough to smile.

"Your room is upstairs, down the right hall," said Maryse. "Your name is on the door. And the stairs are down the hall, opposite direction."

Clary nodded and muttered a thanks, then turned around and walked down the hall, passed the front door, and into the next room. It was a sitting room, with couches and coffee tables, and a staircase curved up to the next floor. Clary walked up to the top, and looked both ways, as if she were preparing to cross a busy road. She went right, as Maryse had instructed, and looked at the doors.

She finally came across one with a pink post-it note on it that said "_Clarissa_" on it close to the end of the hall. Clary cautiously opened the door, and stepped in.

The room was alright- a bit smaller than her last room was, but okay. The floor was hardwood and creaky, and the shape of the room was an exact square. On the opposite wall from the door was a window, smack in the middle with white sheer curtains. The walls were a light green, and very uninteresting. In her old house, her walls were orange. Maybe they'd let her paint it.

She walked slowly over to the window, leaving the door open, and peeked out the curtains.

The view was of the dense forest behind the house. Not bad- rather beautiful, actually.

Living here didn't seem as bad as she'd imagined, but she was still unhappy that she had to leave the place she'd grown up in, and leave everyone and everything she knew.

Clary opened the window, having to shove it upwards as it squeaked in protest, little chips of white paint raining down on the windowsill.

"Clary!" Jocelyn called up the stairs. "Come help bring our things in!"

Clary sighed, and left the room.

* * *

Clary went down the marble staircase, her converse making an interesting sound as they slapped against them.

She went out the front door and went over to where Jocelyn and Luke her removing the tarp from the back of the pickup truck, revealing the little furniture and boxes of things they'd kept.

"Tell you what Clary," Luke called across the front yard as she approached, "you only have to help bring your things in, then you can unpack if you'd like."

Clary said nothing. She said nothing as they brought up her double bed, three-drawer-dresser, armoire, desk, shelf, and boxes. The room was just big enough for everything- including the boxes- to fit.

Clary used a house key she was given to open up her boxes labeled "_Bedding_", "_Clothes_", and "_Art_ _Supplies_."

She spent the next hour in her room, alone, with the door shut making her bed, organizing and putting away her clothes and art supplies, and hanging posters. Then, when she was finally done, she sat down on her bed and sketched the view from her window, trying to distract herself from her unhappiness.

* * *

Clary was woken up by the sound of shoes and voices in the hallway outside her bedroom. There were several pairs of gym shoes, and one pair of annoying high heels, Clary could hear.

There were overlapping conversation, and laughing. Clary wondered if those were their other teenagers she'd heard about.

She heard someone exclaim, then there was laughing.

The light coming from her window was slightly orange, and she wondered if it was sunset.

Clary was vaguely curious about what they were talking about, but then decided she didn't care.

She picked up her phone to see if she'd gotten any new texts from Simon, but she had no new messages. She sighed, stuffing her phone into her pocket as she left the room.

When she opened the door, there were several teenagers in the hall, going in and out of room. They all looked at her and she froze.

"Oh, hello," said a boy with black hair. "You must be Clarissa."

"Um... Yes."

"Hi, I'm Sebastian," he went up to her and offered his hand. She took it- but just to be polite. She didn't feel like talking to anyone right now.

A girl with black hair came out of a room at the end of the hall, a few doors down from her own. "Hi," she said, looking her up and down. "Mom said there'd be a new girl. I'm Isabelle," she smiled.

Clary nodded at her.

"This is Jonathan, Sebastian, Alec, Jordan and Maia," Isabelle gestured to people as she said their names. Clary forgot most of them almost immediately. "I don't know where Jace went..." She looked around, then shrugged. "All well." She looked back at Clary and smiled.

"We were just going to play flashlight tag," said one of the boys- Sebastian? "Would you care to join us?"

Clary blinked, surprised. "Um, no thanks."

"Oh come on," the other girl encouraged. Was her name Maia? "It'll be fun. Promise." She gave a warm smile.

She seemed like the kind of girl Clary could grow to like over time, but right now, Clary felt resentful. She didn't want to like anything in this house, including the people. The girl in platform heels, Isabelle, Clary knew she'd be able to hate easily.

"No thanks," she said, "I'm a bit tired."

"That's okay," said the only boy without black hair. "Maybe later?"

Clary shrugged. "Sure. Excuse me." She passed them, and went down the hall, and down the stairs.

She made her way to the kitchen, where several adults were. Clary counted seven including Luke and Jocelyn.

"Clary!" said Jocelyn. "There you are!"

"We're ordering Chinese," said Maryse, "They'll deliver. What do you want?"

"Um," Clary thought for a second. "I'll eat whatever."

"You should try the mu shu pork," said a voice from behind her. Clary spun around, surprised. She'd had no idea someone was there.

There was a boy about five feet behind her, a crooked smile on his face. "It's delicious."

Clary was speechless. He was _cute_. He was tall, muscular, and had golden-blonde hair. Clary bit down on her tongue to get herself to say something. "... I'll keep that in mind," she said finally.

The boy gained a smirk.

"Mu shu pork for Clary then?" said Maryse.

Clary turned back around. "Um, yeah. Thanks."

Maryse wrote something down on a piece of paper.

"So you're the new girl?" said Jace, coming up beside her, crossing his arms, and smirking.

"Yeah," Clary said, sounding defeated. Every time someone called her "_the New Girl_" it reminded her that she'd moved in the middle of nowhere, and she hated it.

"I'm Jace," he said.

"Clary." She didn't really care that he was cute at this point. All she wanted to do was go home. _This is your home now_, a voice at the back of her head reminded her. She bit her tongue, suddenly feeling miserable all over again. "Nice to meet you," she said, turning back towards the direction of her room, and walked away.

"Ouch," she heard him say as she walked away. She couldn't help but smile slightly at this.

* * *

**Did you like it? Should I continue with the story?**

**I'm posting the playlist on my website (link to my website in my profile) in a minute, so you should check that out ;)**

**Any requests? I totally thrive on those, so please, tell me if you have any :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**13 REVIEWS AFTER ONE CHAPTER?! WOOW! That's amazingly awesome! I LOVE reviews!**

**So some of you are on twitter, and know that the reason I've been so busy is because I moved. Well, now I've moved, and hopefully, I'll be more on top of things now :) ****I LOVE my new house, BTW**

**Guest: I can't stop listening to Miranda Lambert now! LOL!**

**Anyway, enjoy this chapter! I hope you like it!**

**List of Residents**

_Jocelyn Garroway_

_Luke Garroway_

_Clary Fray_

_Maryse Lightwood_

_Robert Lightwood_

_Alec Lightwood_

_Isabelle Lightwood_

_Max Lightwood_

_Jace Herondale_

_Jordan Kyle_

_Maia Roberts_

_Michael Wayland_

_Jonathan Wayland_

_Jia Penhallow_

_Mr. Penhallow (does anyone know Aline's dad's name?)_

_Sebastian Verlac_

* * *

The next day, Clary woke up to the sound of scratching on her door. Clary looked at the door, confused. There was a small, gray paw coming under the door, followed by meowing.

Clary sat up, glaring at the paw that belonged to the reason of her lack of sleep. She picked up a pillow and chucked it at the door, making the cat run away.

Clary sighed, looking around her room. It was her new room; small, and the green color she disliked. She had tried putting up some posters to familiarize it, but it did little good. What she really wanted to do was paint it orange.

She sighed, throwing off her covers and heading over to her three-drawer dresser.

She decided on a plain long sleeved shirt, and a faded denim skirt, then let her hair down. She wasn't exactly sure _why_ she decided to wear a skirt, because she rarely did, but she just shrugged it off and left her room.

Downstairs, she could hear faint music, and assumed it came from the basement. Luke had said the kids here had started a band or something.

Clary walked into the kitchen, where both the other teenage girls were sitting on tall chairs pulled up to the counter, mugs in front of them.

The girl who sat further away seemed to spot Clary, and waved at her. "Morning," she said, causing the one with darker skin to turn.

"Hi," Clary said carefully, walking into the kitchen and towards the coffee pot.

"Claire, right?" The black haired girl asked. Her name started with an 'I' didn't it?

"_Clary_," Clary corrected, trying not to sound annoyed. She took the mug off the counter with a post-it on the side with her mother's handwriting on it.

_Clary,_

_Luke and I went to work._

_See you tonight!_

_Mom_

Clary sighed. So she was in this house alone? Sort of... She took the pot of coffee and poured herself a cup.

"The milk's in the fridge, and the sugar's on the counter," said the other girl. _Maia_, Clary remembered.

"Thanks," Clary muttered, though she didn't like anything in her coffee. She took a sip, and frowned when she realized it wasn't what she usually had, but it was better.

"Isabelle and I were just talking about the boys' band," said Maia.

_Isabelle! That was it_, Clary thought, smiling gently, but not noticing.

"They're actually pretty good," Isabelle shrugged, "if you want to check them out."

Clary shrugged, taking another sip of her coffee. "My friend Simon had a band- _has_ a band." She corrected herself quickly, noting that life still happened whether or not she was there.

"Yeah?" Isabelle looked mildly interested, like she was trying to befriend Clary, but didn't really care. That was when Clary remembered that she didn't like Isabelle. "Would I have heard of them?"

Clary shook her head. "Probably not."

Maia seemed to come alive, and she put her hand on Isabelle's arm suddenly. "They're playing Good Riddance!" Maia exclaimed. "I'm going down." She hopped off the chair, abandoning her coffee mug and glancing over at Clary. "You wanna come?"

Clary shook her head immediately. The _last_ thing she wanted was to have to sit through some crappy music and lie when they asked her if she liked it.

"Suit yourself." Maia went to the door just outside the kitchen on the opposite side of where Clary was, then disappeared behind it.

"I'm gonna go, too," said Isabelle, standing up. "Are you sure you'll be okay alone?" she asked.

Clary nodded taking another sip of her coffee as Isabelle left, too.

* * *

A few minutes later, Clary stepped outside and crossed her arms over her chest. It was pretty chilly up here in the mountains, and so foggy that Clary could barely see ten feet in front of her.

She could still faintly hear the band's music, and rolled her eyes when she heard that they were playing _Bad Day_ by _Daniel Powter_. How perfectly ironic.

Clary pulled her cell out of her back pocket and tried to call Simon, but the lack of reception made it impossible.

She growled at it, then stuffed her phone back into her pocket, and wandered into the front yard. Clary could see the silhouettes of tall trees surrounding the house, and there was a lush forest behind it, but a big, empty space in front with a fallen tree lying across it. Clary walked up to it, and looked through the hollowed area. It was hollow all the way through, and there was enough room for someone taller than Clary to sit up in. This would be a good place to get away and draw, Clary decided.

A gust of wind blew through the clearing, blowing Clary's red curls into her face and making her cold. She crossed her arms over her chest, annoyed.

Why did they have to move this far out anyway? Just because her mom got some stupid museum job? Clary really hated it here; it was foggy, and cold, and she couldn't go anywhere. Not to mention the lack of cell reception.

Clary stopped back to the house, feeling officially defeated. Maybe this was some sort of punishment for her having a perfect life before, and now it was as far from perfect as you could get.

* * *

When Clary got back inside, she went to the kitchen to get an apple, but they didn't have any as far as she could see. She huffed, sitting on one of the tall chairs.

The music from downstairs was softer now, and she listened more closely. They were playing _Plain White T's_.

Clary slowly stood up, and out of curiosity, went to the basement door. The soft lyrics of _Hey There Delilah_ were almost calming to Clary. She bit her tongue, considering going down.

She opened the door, and started down the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible.

When she got to the bottom, she peeked around the corner, seeing a boy sitting on a stool, guitar being played as he sang. A few people were sitting on a worn leather couch, watching him, including a little boy that Clary hadn't seen before, and a few others were by a large box-like thing, adjusting the settings on it. _Hell of a recording studio_, she thought.

The boy singing the song was Jace, Clary was pretty certain. He was actually doing pretty well, and looked especially attractive while playing the guitar.

Clary bit her tongue, suddenly feeling pathetic, but she didn't leave; she couldn't bring herself to.

The song finished, followed by several seconds of silence before one of the boys by the box-like-thing spoke up. "Done," he said. Clary was almost certain this one was Jonathan. "That was a good one."

"I know," Jace smirked, "when I play solo, they're always perfect."

A few people rolled their eyes, including Clary. It was true that he'd done well, but he was obviously the overconfident type.

Jace's eyes suddenly darted to Clary. She gasped, rushing back up the stairs, instantly embarrassed. She regretted going down now, and hoped that Jace would soon forget, but somehow, she thought he was going to remember.

* * *

**So I know these chapters are shorter than my usual ones, but having them slightly shorter makes it easier to update more frequently.**

**Who liked this chapter? I know not much happened, but I want to drag this story out a bit, so things are gonna happen a bit slowly. I'm doing character development, etc.**

**Any requests? Things that you want to happen or see? Also, the song suggestions are totally awesome, so please, KEEP THEM COMING!**

**Oh, one more thing: cover art. What kind of thing should I do for that?**

**Anyway, thanks everyone!**

**-Wisterian Princess**

**P.S.**** I'm also on twitter if anyone want to follow me. My username is WisterianPrince :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**The amount of reviews I'm getting is totally blowing my ****_mind_****! I'm so glad all of you like the story this much!**

**(To all the people who told me Aline's dad's name)****: PATRICK! Thank you guys! That's very helpful!**

**MEEC7****: Simon's gonna show up in the future, yes. I'm thinking around the 10 chapter point? As for Sizzy, you'll have to see... ;)**

**Mrs. Jace Wayland-Herondale****: I know you think there are too many characters. It's just how it was in the dream, there were a lot of people, and it was terribly overwhelming. And don't worry, character development coming ;) And the cover art idea was good! As you can probably see, I used it :)**

**Gams2000:**** Clary ran away at the end of the last chapter because she was embarrassed. And the song was good! I love that song :)**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Lunch time was complete and utter _chaos_. There were _nine_ people including Clary in the kitchen making sandwiches, pouring and spilling juice, taking out chips, and eating in various places.

Clary sat on one of the tall chairs, waiting for the traffic to clear up before she made herself anything. A boy was sitting on the chair next to her, watching the hassle, just like she was. She glanced at him, looking more carefully. He looked just like Simon had when he was about that age. Being reminded of Simon made Clary remember how much she missed him.

The boy looked up at her, giving her a small smile. "Hi."

"Uh..." Clary had never been great with kids, and being around them made her a little nervous. "Hi."

"I'm Max," he said, "what's your name?"

"Clary." She gave him a bit of a smile.

"So you're new here, huh?"

Clary sagged in her seat as she was yet again reminded. She sighed. "Yeah."

A pucker formed between his brows. "You don't sound very happy about it."

Clary shrugged. "I miss my best friend."

Max nodded. "Yeah, me too. She moved away last year. What's your best friend's name?"

"Simon."

Max smiled. He looked like he was about to say something else, but someone set a sandwich in front of him, and he got distracted. "Thanks, Jace!"

Clary glanced up at Jace, who was already looking at her, a crooked smile on his face. She looked away quickly, pretending to be watching Isabelle cooking grilled cheese. Clary frowned What was she _doing_? You weren't supposed to leave the plastic on the cheese!

Maia ran over to Isabelle, started helping her, then took over. Isabelle looked defeated.

"Isabelle's a terrible cook." A voice beside Clary said.

Clary jumped, not realizing Jace had taken the seat next to her. "And can you say that you're better?" she challenged.

Jace chuckled. "_Everyone's_ better than Isabelle," he stated, "however, I do make a mean cheese sandwich." Jace slid a plate holding a sandwich over to her. Clary then realized he'd had two plates.

She blushed slightly, despite herself. "Thanks."

A crooked smile stretched over Jace's face. After a few seconds, he asked: "So what did you think?"

Clary glanced down at her untouched sandwich, confused.

"The music," he clarified, "did you like it?"

That made more sense. Clary _did_ like it, but she felt like she was melting too fast. He'd probably flirt this much with every other girl he met. Clary was nothing special. "No," she lied.

Jace raised his eyebrows, obviously surprised.

Clary took a bite of her sandwich, avoiding his golden gaze. It _was_ pretty good.

"What, you don't like _Plain White T's_?" Jace asked.

"No, I like them, you're just not as talented or charming as you think." She tried to sound like she actually meant what she was saying, and was pretty sure she did, but Jace just chuckled. She glanced at him, annoyed with him now.

"Now you're just lying. You're totally into me now, aren't you?"

Clary blushed, feeling furious. "For your information, _Jason_, you're not my type." She looked back at her plate and took another bite of her sandwich. She felt like she was somehow lower in the argument because she kept eating the food that he had made for her, but she was starving. She hadn't eaten all day because of the lack of apples.

"First of all," Jace's tone conveyed that he felt superior to her, and Clary didn't like it, "Jace is short for _Jonathan_, not Jason."

Clary swallowed her food, frowning and looking back at him. "How does that make sense?"

"Second of all," he continued as if she hadn't said anything, "I'm everyone's type." An annoying smirk stretched across his face.

Clary rolled her eyes and sighed. This was hopeless. He was just an arrogant prick, not even worth her time. She was reminded of how much she hated it there, and got out of her chair. She wanted to say something as an exit line, but couldn't think of anything good. She went to her room without another word.

* * *

Clary couldn't really seem to find her creativity. She tore out page after page from her sketchbook, attempting to draw something good, but just not feeling it.

Being able to be easily inspired and draw it perfectly was always a talent of Jocelyn's that Clary had been jealous of. She could draw beautiful, soulful scenes while barely trying.

Clary gave up on trying to be creative and just started drawing Simon. She'd drawn Simon dozens of times; his familiar brown hair that hung over his forehead, his glasses, his gangly form. It was a comfort seeing Simon, even if he was only on paper. She really missed talking to him.

She was broken out of her thoughts when someone knocked on the door. Clary looked up from her sketchbook, seeing how dark it had gotten. The lighting in her room was dim, and pink, signifying it was sunset.

"Who is it?" she asked, not actually wanting to deal with anyone.

Her door opened, and Isabelle leaned in, her black braids falling forwards as she did. "Hey Clary." Well, she'd gotten her name right, that was something.

"Hi," Clary said flatly.

Isabelle slipped in and shut the door behind her. Clary glanced down at her seven inch heels, and cringed. How could she stand in those? "We were going to play flashlight tag again." Isabelle smiled. "Wanna join?"

Clary looked back at her sketchbook. _God_ how she missed Simon. It was so isolated here, so much that she couldn't even send him a text. "No thanks," she sighed.

Isabelle came up beside Clary and surprised her by sitting on her bed next to her. Clary looked at her, alarmed, but Isabelle was looking at the drawing of Simon.

"He's cute. You're a really good artist, Clary."

Clary wondered if Isabelle was just trying to butter her up to get her to go, but it didn't seem like it. Isabelle looked genuinely interested in her drawing.

"That's Simon," Clary found herself telling her, "he's my best friend."

Isabelle looked at her, eyes widening. "Oh he's _real_? You're going to have to introduce me then."

Clary furrowed her brows, but Isabelle looked serious. "... Sure..."

Isabelle smiled. "Thanks."

Isabelle didn't seem half bad, Clary decided. After several seconds, Clary gave in. "Fine, I'll play."

Isabelle looked momentarily surprised, but then smiled. "Great! I'll meet you outside in ten." She hopped up, then swiftly exited Clary's room.

Clary changed into jeans and a T-shirt, preparing for running through the forest. That's probably what they were doing. Clary just hoped she didn't get lost.

Five minutes later, she left her room, trotted down the marble steps, and headed out the front door.

The porchlight was on, making it hard to adjust to the near darkness outside.

There was a group of people gathered in the middle of the clearing, talking amongst themselves.

Clary apprehensively walked over to them, feeling chilly.

"Clary!" Isabelle waved at her. When a few of them looked at her. She blushed, and sped up.

"Do you remember everybody's names?" Isabelle asked once Clary got there.

She shook her head, regretting coming already.

"Okay," Isabelle gestured to herself. "I'm Isabelle Lightwood, my mom owns the house," she gestured to a boy with black hair. "This is Alec Lightwood, my older brother."

Alec nodded at her, not seeming very friendly. Clary nodded back.

"This is Sebastian Verlac," Isabelle gestured to the other boy with black hair. "He lives here with Patrick and Jia."

"Hello." Sebastian gave her a bit of a wave, looking slightly flirty. Clary gave him a tight smile.

"This is Jonathan Wayland, or _Jon_." Isabelle gestured to the brunette boy. "He lives here with Michael."

"Hey," said Jon, sounding much more like he was flirting than Sebastian did.

"This is Jordan Kyle, he lives here with Maia." Isabelle gestured to the boy with olive toned skin and to Maia, who Clary remembered.

"Hey," said Jordan, lacing his fingers with Maia's.

Clary finally mustered a feeble _hi_, and gave a little wave.

"And finally Jace." Isabelle gestured to Jace, who gave Clary a crooked smile. "He's my adoptive brother."

"We've met," said Jace, giving Clary a knowing smile.

Clary decided not to let him get to her, and didn't even bother to look at him.

"Alright," said Isabelle. "Not it!"

Everyone, including Clary, said 'not it' at once, but Maia's voice lingered longer.

"Maia's it," said Jon, handing Maia the flashlight.

Maia grinned, switching it on. "No bounds. Go!"

Everyone bolted, and Clary did too. She wasn't sure what she was thinking when she agreed to do this.

* * *

Clary was now out of earshot of any of the laughter and shouting she'd heard from the others, and was now surrounded by darkness. She was in the forest that surrounded the house, but wasn't sure exactly where she was. Not only was it dark, but it was a bit foggy, too, making it nearly impossible to see where she was.

She shivered in the cold, spinning around to try and figure out where she'd come from. She was panting from both running and oncoming fear. _I'm not lost_, she told herself. She took out her phone, but as she'd expected. there was no reception. She swallowed, stuffing her phone back into her pocket.

It had been too long; they had probably either forgotten about her, or were looking for her. Well... at least she'd won, she thought weakly.

"Hello?" she called, spinning around. "Is anybody there?"

There was no answer.

Clary felt panic beginning to stir inside her, but tried to shove it back down. "Hello? Is anyo-" her words were cut off by a hand covering her mouth, and an arm wrapping itself around her core. She screamed, but it was muffled by the hand.

"_Ssh_," a distinctly male voice hissed in her ear, "Maia's over there."

All the panic instantly left Clary as she realized that she wasn't lost at all, but it was quickly replaced by annoyance. She wrestled the now loosened grip of the muscular arm off of her and spun around to face Jace.

"What was that for?" she hissed.

A crooked smile came to his lips, and Clary felt her hands turn to fists at her side. "You were shouting," he said, tone low. "I was just trying to..." he looked at something behind her and trailed off.

Clary turned and saw the light of a flashlight piercing through the fog.

"_Hide_." A seductive voice whispered in Clary's ear. A slight blush came to her cheeks, but she turned to look for somewhere to hide.

Jace grabbed her arm and yanked her to him, making her gasp. They were now both hidden behind a thick tree.

Clary saw the light from the flashlight pass over their hiding place, not slowing. Maia didn't see them.

Jace peered around the trunk and watched Maia disappear further into the forest. "Alright, she's gone." He released Clary, and she stumbled away.

"You've _got_ to stop doing that," she said, hating that she was blushing from him proximity. He'd smelled so nice...

Jace raised one eyebrow. Clary was instantly jealous; she'd always wanted to be able to do that, but couldn't. "... If you really want me to stop being charming, I can do that."

Clary glared at him. "_Teasing_ me isn't charming."

The corner of Jace's mouth curled up. "Fine." He began briskly walking away.

"Where are you going?" she demanded, secretly not wanting to be alone again.

"Leaving you on your own," he called over his shoulder, "since I'm not charming." He was obviously playing with her again, and under any other circumstance, she wouldn't follow him, but this time...

"Jace, wait!" she ran after him, hating that she was, and deciding that she hated him.

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who is being supportive of the story! I couldn't do it without you!**

**On my website, I have stuff like the playlist, and a photo (I will be adding more as time goes on). Of course, the playlist is ridiculously long, so I'm probably going to have to cut that down...**

**Any more song requests? I know I already have too many songs, but I seriously love them! :)**

**So lately, I don't know why, but my inspiration has been kinda slow :/ If you guys could help me out with requests, that would be awesome!**

**Twitter username: WisterianPrince**

**Thanks!**

**Wisterian Princess**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright! Just finished this one! So this chapter may or may not be that good, but tell me what you think at the end!**

* * *

It had been a few days since Clary had moved to Nowhere (her official nickname for her new home). She'd been hanging out a little with Maia and Isabelle, who weren't bad, but she wouldn't consider them _friends_. She didn't have friends in Nowhere, and she didn't plan on it. All she wanted to do was go back to her _real_ home, where Simon was.

Jace had been getting worse. Since what had happened in the forest, he'd started doing or saying obnoxious things, and afterwards, he'd say: "What? I'm not charming."

_God_, how Clary hated him.

Clary was in her room now, sketching Jace is all his devilish glory. In the picture, Jace was sprawled out on a stone table, grinning his grin. She had given him devil horns and a tail, wearing no shirt. Somehow, he looked like a sexy badboy, which was unconsciously intensional.

Clary heard a knock on her door, and immediately slammed her sketchbook shut. The door opened, and Jocelyn poked her head in.

"Clary, could you help bring the groceries in?"

Clary sighed, putting aside her sketchbook and following Jocelyn out to Luke's pickup truck. It was dusk outside, and the orange-pink light transformed the sky into something beautiful.

"We got apples," said Jocelyn as she took a large paper bag out of the truck, "among other things."

Clary was still a little mad at both Luke and Jocelyn for making her move out here, but for this moment, she was grateful. She even smiled.

"Thank you _so_ much." She took the bag- which was rather heavy- in her arms, and carried it back toward the house. As she started up the front porch steps, she heard a voice.

"Need some help with those?" _Jace_. He didn't actually mean to help her, she knew, so she declined his offer.

"No thanks." Her tone was laced with ice. When she got to the door, she tried to grab the handle, but couldn't, or the bag would slip. "Can someone get the door?" she called, though the only one near her was Jace.

"Oh, I'm busy."

Clary glanced around the bag to look at Jace. He was standing on the porch off to the side, leaning against the outside of the house and looking at something on his phone.

"You get _reception_ out here?" she said without thinking.

Jace shrugged, not looking at her. "I have verizon. They have a tower near here."

Clary didn't have Verizon; she had AT&T. She found herself _extremely_ jealous or Jace suddenly, and hating herself for it.

She grabbed at the door handle again, desperate to get away from Jace, but her hand slipped, and she nearly dropped the grocery bag. She caught it before it went down, but some of its contents spilled out: apples, onions, a bag of coffee beans, and a carton of milk, which burst open.

Jace started laughing, and Clary gritted her teeth. "Shut up," she snapped. She got down, and started putting things back into the bag, then opened the door before picking up the bag again.

* * *

**The Next Morning...**

Clary poked distastefully at the scrambled eggs on her plate with her fork. She'd never really liked eggs, but she didn't want to be rude. She weighed both options, and decided that being rude was fine. She set down her fork next to her plate, and took an apple from the fruit bowl.

She looked at the bruises on the apple, and thought of yesterday. That was not Jace's fault, but she couldn't help but be mad at him for it. She took a bite of the apple, not liking the mushy texture.

"We should go to the mall today." Isabelle said loudly enough for all the kitchen's occupants to hear. There was a lot of agreeing, and Clary was relieved. She preferred being alone in the house rather than being in the chaos of all the teenagers.

"Clary, you should come!" Isabelle grinned. Everyone looked at her, and she shrunk into her shoulders, embarrassed.

"Um, no thanks. Shopping isn't my thing," Clary said.

Isabelle looked slightly disappointed. "Oh, okay."

* * *

Later, after everyone left, Clary sat on the couch across from the staircase with her sketchbook. Clary was, yet again, trying and failing to find her creativity, so she started touching up the drawing of Jace.

Clary had never seen Jace shirtless, so she only drew how she'd imagined it. She figured since his arms were muscular, his chest would be, too. She traced over the contours of his muscles with her pencil, trying to copy what she saw in her mind and put it on paper.

"What are you drawing?" A voice asked from the hall.

Clary gasped, dropping her sketchbook. She'd thought she was in the house alone, but sure enough, Jace was leaning against the wall, a smirk plastered to his face.

Clary gathered up her sketchbook and closed it so he wouldn't see, managing not to look at him.

"So, what, you're ignoring me now?" he sounded amused, making Clary furious, but she still ignored him. "Is this about the milk yesterday? That wasn't my fault, you know."

Clary didn't want to be near him anymore. She stood up swiftly, and left the main room, retreating to her bedroom.

Clary dropped her sketchbook on her bed and threw open her window. She felt like she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but resisted the urge. Why did her mom have to take that stupid job? Why did they have to _move_?

Clary took a deep breath of fresh forest air, trying to calm herself.

This was ridiculous. A teenage boy was trying to mess with her. Bid deal. Clary's life you be like this all the time if she had an older brother, right?

* * *

Clary checked her reflection in the mirror over the bathroom sink. She looked fine, she supposed. Today, her hair behaved slightly better than it usually did, and her skin looked more healthy. Why though, she wondered? Maybe because she'd gotten more sleep here because there was little else to do.

She walked over to the bathroom door, and took the handle, but it broke off. Clary gasped, trying to stuff it back in, but the door wouldn't open.

"Jace!" she shouted angrily. "Jace, what did you do to the door?!" She pounded on the door, not wanting to be trapped. "Jace!"

"What?" she could hear that he was calling from down the hall.

"What did you do to the bathroom door?!"

"Oh, did the handle come off again?" he sounded like he was getting closer. "Yeah, not my doing. That happens occasionally." Jace was right outside the door now.

"Well can you let me out?" Clary wasn't sure whether or not she believed him, but she didn't want to be stuck in there. There weren't any windows.

"Sorry." Jace was obviously smirking again; Clary could hear it in his voice. "I'm not charming."

Clary's nostrils flared, and she pounded her fist on the door. "_Jonathan Herondale,_ let me out of here right now!"

"That isn't my name," he said, then walked away.

Clary growled. She was probably going to be stuck in here a while.

* * *

It was a while before Clary got out. She must have spent an hour trying to fix the door handle before Max opened the door. Clary stayed frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do.

"Did the door handle come off again?" asked Max.

Clary composed herself and stood up. "Uh, yeah."

"Here." Max took the door handle from her hands, then took a screwdriver out of one of the wicker baskets on the shelf, then loosened a screw, slipped the handle back in, then tightened it. "There," he said, "fixed it."

"Thanks," Clary said before retreating back to her bedroom.

* * *

Jace's little tricks didn't stop there. The next morning, when Clary was showering, she heard the bathroom door open.

"Someone's in here," she said, but the person didn't leave. "_Hey_." Clary poked her head out from behind the curtain and saw Jace at the sink, brushing his teeth. "GET OUT!" She yelled. "What the hell is _wrong_ with you?!"

Jace spit out the toothpaste and shrugged. "I'm not charming."

Clary, enraged, grabbed the bar of soap and chucked it at him.

* * *

"So what's up with you and Jace?" Isabelle asked when they were eating lunch together on the couch by the stairs later that day. "He's constantly asking where you are, and whenever he comes around, you get all... _angry_." Isabelle shrugged.

Clary gritted her teeth just thinking of him. "He's an asshole." She stated as she twirled her fork into her spaghetti.

Isabelle laughed. "Yeah, he gets like that sometimes. What did he do?"

"There's a list," Clary muttered around her noodles.

"Oh." Isabelle giggled, and Clary shot her a glare. "Well I think he's just like this because of what happened to his parents." Isabelle's tone had taken on a hint of seriousness, and this made Clary curious.

"What happened?"

Isabelle forked up more spaghetti. The look in her eyes said that it was serious. "Are you sure you want to hear this?"

Clary hesitated, but curiosity got the best of her, and she nodded.

Isabelle sighed, then looked at her pasta. "When Jace was ten, some muggers broke into his house. His parents called the police, but they were already inside, so they told Jace to hide. So he hid under the bed and watched both his parents get murdered."

Clary gasped involuntarily. "That's awful," she whispered.

Isabelle nodded slightly. "We adopted him soon after that. He's always used sarcasm to hide behind, so we forgive him when he acts like an ass."

Clary turned her gaze to her tomato sauce covered noodles. Was that why Jace was the way he was? Because his parents got murdered?

Clary felt extremely guilty now.

* * *

Clary was sitting inside the hollow log now with her sketchbook, attempting to draw Jace the way she saw him now: with a solemn expression. She couldn't seem to manage it.

The rain drummed rhythmically on the outside of the log, signifying that it was pouring, but she was completely dry where she was.

She scrapped the page, unable to draw Jace in that way, and started drawing him as he was: just a person. She drew that smirk that he always had on, but she somehow made his expression seem as though he was actually kind. _Was_ he, she wondered? Could he actually be kind?

She realized suddenly that it was getting hard to see, and looked outside the hollowed out tree. It was getting dark, though she couldn't tell if it was sunset because of all the dark clouds in the sky.

She put her drawing things back into her green messenger bag, and pulled up the hood of her thin, gray jacket. The second she left the dry safety of the hollow tree, she began running back towards the house. When she got to the door, it was locked.

She knocked a few times before she heard a voice on the other side.

"Who is it?" Jace asked, tone playful. He obviously already knew who it was, and he probably was the one who locked her out, but for some unknown reason, Clary couldn't bring herself to be that mad at him. "Jace, it's me," she said. "I'm really wet, and it's cold. Can I come in?"

"Sorry," he said, and Clary knew exactly what was coming next. "I'm not charming."

"Okay fine, you win," she heard herself say, and was unsure of where it had come from.

"I'm sorry?" Jace had obviously thought he'd misheard her.

"Whatever you're trying to prove, you win," she said to the door. "Just... just stop _pestering_ me." She managed to gain some of her anger back- just enough to make her sound like herself again.

The door opened suddenly, and Jace was there, looking at her with a slight smile on his lips. "So I'm charming then?"

"Sure," Clary said flatly, "you're _charming_."

Jace held the door open, and gestured her inside.

She walked past him, pushing her hood off and taking off her squishy, muddy sneakers.

"We're hanging out downstairs," Jace said, "you're welcome to join us if you want."

Clary glanced up at him. He was smiling slightly. It was a bit of an amused smile, but also a tad it sincere. She looked away. "Sure."

She hadn't realized she's answered with a yes until Jace said: "Alright. See you downstairs."

When he walked away, Clary's eyes followed him. She considered the possibility of just going up to her room and staying there, but then thought twice. _Why_?

She heard the faint sound of the music start to play, and sighed. They were playing _Everlong_ by _The Foo Fighters_. She actually liked this song. She apprehensively opened the basement door, and started down the stairs. She went down painfully slowly, her damp socks making no sound on the wooden steps, but she listened.

The band was actually pretty good, and as much as she hated to admit it, Jace's _voice_ was pretty good, too.

She finally got to the bottom, and paused. Did she _really_ want to surrender? Jace was still rude; the only thing that was different is that Clary had heard some story that might not even be true.

She turned around, and went back up the stairs, but sat at the top, and listened.

* * *

**So there you have it! Clary finally warming up a bit!**

**How did you guys like the chapter? Was it too... I don't have a word, just tell me what you thought.**

**So can you guys start requesting stuff? Because I'm running low on ideas, and I'm working on writing some other stuff, too.**

**See you soon!**


	5. Chapter 5

**The aftershock of my move is my excuse for the not updating often enough dilemma :/ I'm sorry to everyone! I totally understand if you hate me, but I made this chapter nice and long to make up for it :)**

**_School_****! Dang it! I didn't really think about that because I'm homeschooled :P I guess it could be summer, and I could put school in later, but it isn't really important to the story if you know what I mean. Who thinks I should add school stuff and who thinks I should just leave it the way it is?**

**I have looked over your requests, and I will use a few! It may take a bit of time though since this story moves slowly.**

** Anyway, enjoy this 3,000 word chapter!**

* * *

Clary pulled the ninth volume of _Naruto_ out of her box labeled "_manga_" and sighed. Clary had always read her manga with Simon looking over her shoulder, asking who everyone was and what was going on. _God_ she missed him.

Clary hadn't spoken to or heard from Simon in over a week, and Clary wasn't sure how much longer she could go without talking to him. She'd asked her mom if she could switch to Verizon so she could contact... well, anyone, but her mother had said their contract wasn't up yet, so they couldn't.

Clary put her manga onto her small, nearly empty bookshelf, then pulled out the second volume of _Fullmetal_ _Alchemist_.

There was a knock on Clary's door; a harder knock, and it sounded higher up. It was probably Jace. The only people who ever knocked on Clary's door were her parents, Jace, and Isabelle.

Jace didn't bother waiting for her answer, just opened the door and leaned in, a crooked smile plastered on his face.

Clary glanced up at him, not paying him much mind as she put more manga onto her shelf. "What do you want, Jace?" she asked with an annoyed tone.

"Oh how _welcoming_ you are." Jace said sarcastically.

Clary rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, I was going to go to Taki's, and I was wondering if you wanted to come."

Clary had no idea what _Taki's_ was, but that didn't change her answer. "No."

The corner of Jace's lips curled up. "Let me rephrase that: I'm leaving the mountain to go somewhere with cell phone reception. Do you want to come?"

The manga in Clary's hands fell back into the box and she looked sharply at Jace, eyes wide.

Jace chuckled. "I'll meet you out front in five minutes." Then he closed the door.

Clary jumped up, instantly overjoyed. She was going to be able to talk to Simon!

Clary grabbed her sky blue jacket and pulled it on, zipping her phone into her pocket then lacing up her red converse.

Within a few minutes, Clary raced down the white marble staircase and ran down the hall, but paused at the front door; She didn't want to look too desperate. She relaxed her shoulders, and left the house at a speed that felt _painfully_ slow.

It was a nice day today; the sun was shining brightly in the clear sky, and it was fairly warm, but still a bit cool for July.

Jace was leaning against a motorcycle that Clary didn't notice until she was a matter of feet away.

"Ready to go?" Jace asked.

Clary's eyes shifted to the motorcycle Jace was leaning on. It was a nice one- sleek and black, and probably _ridiculously_ expensive.

"_No way_." Clary took an involuntary step back.

Jace chuckled. "Haven't you ever seen a motorcycle before, Clarissa?" he was clearly amused, which made Clary annoyed, and she recovered her composure.

"You're going to drive down the mountain on _that_? Are you _insane_?"

Jace just laughed. "I ride this thing everywhere." He shrugged. "I haven't gotten hurt once. Don't you trust me?"

Clary licked her lips. They still tasted like her late morning black coffee that she had finished about ten minutes ago. "I trust you about as far as I can throw you, Jonathan Herondale."

Something dark flashed in Jace's gold eyes for a brief second, but it was gone so quickly that Clary was sure she had imagined it.

Clary sighed, giving in. "Alright."

A triumphant grin stretched across Jace's face. "Are you really that desperate to go out with me, Fray?"

Clary rolled her eyes. "I'm not desperate, and I don't want to go out with you."

Jace scoffed. "Sure." He turned around, swinging his leg over the motorcycle, then looked at her.

"Um..." Clary bit her lip. She walked cautiously to the back of his motorcycle, and swung her leg over, trying to avoid touching him. She was a bit short, but she managed it.

"Put your arms around me," Jace said, glancing over his shoulder at her.

Clary bit her tongue. "I-"

"Here." Jace took both her arms from behind him, pulled her to his back, and put her arms around his waist.

Clary stiffened, feeling uncomfortable being so close to a boy who wasn't Simon. She could feel Jace's hard stomach muscles underneath her arms, even through the fabric of both their jackets. She blushed, despite herself.

Jace slid the key into the ignition.

Clary hoped he didn't feel her heart pounding through his leather jacket. She loosened her grip around him, and tried to give herself about an inch of space between her chest and his back.

Jace gripped the clutch and nudged the bike into gear with his left foot. When it rumbled to life, Clary resisted the urge to tighten her grip again.

The bike began going slowly, turning to the left and moving towards the road.

_This isn't so bad_, Clary thought. Then the bike took off, the speed enough to clear Clary's hair from her face. She squealed in both fear and surprise, and her grip around Jace's waist tightened again to that her chest was to his back.

She heard Jace laughing, and he shook with it. Clary narrowed her eyes, even though he couldn't see it.

"This is _nothing_," Jace said, tone raised just enough for her to hear. "This is only fifteen miles per hour."

Clary swallowed. What would happen when he sped up?

Then he did. The motorcycle rumbled as the pace picked up, taking them faster down the bumpy slanted road, making the lush forest around them blur.

Clary squealed again, tightening her arms around Jace and gripping his belt. He shook with laughter again. Clary screamed at herself inside her head to let go of it, but she couldn't bring herself to.

The wind whipped through Clary's loose hair, harshly hissing in both her ears so she could barely hear the motorcycle's engine.

Jace called something to her over his shoulder, but she couldn't quite hear him.

"What?"

"How're you doing back there?" He asked again, sounding slightly amused, but at this point, Clary didn't care.

"_Great_," she said sarcastically. "Just _great_!"

Jace shook with laughter again, then they whipped around a corner, going onto the flat road Clary hadn't seen since she'd arrived.

* * *

Clary watched as the trees thinned out as they left the mountain, seeing the clear sky at last. It was at least midday now, and Clary could feel her stomach groan as it requested food.

Suddenly, they were on a main road, surrounded by other cars. Clary had never been more glad to see a prius or a cadillac in her entire life.

When they got to a stop light, Clary was flooded with relief. Her hair felt life a mess, and her palms- which were still gripping Jace's belt- were covered with sweat, and felt clammy.

A blue yaris pulled up beside the motorcycle with the windows rolled down, playing _Sugar, We're Goin Down_ by _Fall Out Boy_ loud on the radio. Clary smiled, noticing that her phone started vibrating in her pocket, signifying she was getting either a _lot_ of texts, or someone was calling her. Clary wouldn't reach for her phone until the motorcycle was stopped, but her fingers itched to text Simon.

The light turned green, and Jace started up again, turning onto another main road as the music faded away. The motorcycle's pace was slower than it had been in the mountains, so Clary relaxed slightly, but she didn't let any distance come between her and Jace, just in case.

A few more minutes, and Jace finally pulled into a large parking lot for a strip of stores: Fortunato Brothers, Key Foods, Hunter's Moon, Jade Wolf Chinese cuisine, and finally, Taki's.

"You still back there?" Jace asked in a teasing tone.

"Yeah," Clary managed, finally able to let go of his belt. Her fingers felt stiff, and she stretched them as she took her arms off of Jace's waist. She tried to slide off he side, but she was too short, and started to fall.

Jace caught her arm, steadying her as she got her footing. "You alright?" he asked. His golden-blonde hair was a mess, but it was somehow incredibly attractive on him. This made Clary think of her own hair, and she pulled her arm away from him to fix it. It _was_ a mess.

"Fine," she muttered, blushing. She turned away from Jace, looking over the long line of stores as she put her hair into two braids. After that, she pulled out her cell phone and saw she had _four hundred and seventeen_ new texts from Simon.

Clary didn't bother to read any of them, just went straight to calling him. It rang, and Clary felt as though the sound was heavenly. She'd missed it so much.

After several rings, Simon's voice came to the other end. "So you decided to finally call, huh?" he asked, tone flat.

Clary didn't realize that he sounded upset since she was so happy. A huge grin stretched across her face. "Simon! Oh my god, it's so good to hear your _voice_!"

"... Is it?" Simon's tone was still flat, and Clary could hear his band buddies quirling in the background; something about pickles. "I've been texting you."

"Oh Simon, you have no idea..." She wasn't sure how to put the week's torture into words while grinning this widely. "There was no reception in the mountain, none at _all_. I've been trying to contact you all week! God, I miss you so much!"

"... You have?" Simon's tone brightened.

In the background, Eric's voice got louder. "No, Pickle _Paradise_, not pickle _P__arade_!" he exclaimed. Clary giggled.

"Shut up!" Simon shouted at them. "I'm on the phone!"

Clary laughed. Oh how she'd missed him, and even Eric. "That's a terrible band name. Don't do that."

"Well it's better than what it currently is." You could hear the smile in Simon's voice. "Penguin Welts."

"_Ugh_!" Clary laughed. "Oh you're right. How are you doing?"

"I'm good," Simon said. "I miss you like crazy."

"Yeah, I miss you too." Clary smiled. She remembered Simon had cried when she'd left, but he'd tried not to. He'd told her to text him when she got there, and she promised she would, but she ended up never doing it due to the lack of reception.

"So how're you?" Simon asked.

"I'm fine." Clary started walking aimlessly down the spray painted yellow lines on the pavement. "There isn't much out here. This it the first time I've left the property since I got here."

"Wow." Simon whistled. "How's the house?"

Clary shrugged. "It's nice. A bit crowded, but I get my own room."

"How many people did you say you were sharing it with?"

"There are sixteen residents including my parents and me, and eight of us are teenagers."

Simon whistled again, and Clary laughed.

"Are you making new friends?" There was something in Simon's tone that made Clary think he half didn't want her to have more friends than him, but half did.

"Sort of. Not really," she said honestly. "I wouldn't really call any of them '_friends_', but they're fine." Clary was mostly referring to Isabelle and Maia. She didn't know _what_ Jace was. Not a friend, that was for sure.

"That's good."

Thinking of Jace, Clary glanced over her shoulder at him. He was leaning against his motorcycle again, watching her. She looked away again. "Hey Simon, I have to go."

"Oh." He sounded disappointed.

"Sorry. Someone's waiting for me."

"That's okay," Simon said. "Oh, one more thing: don't read the texts I sent you, okay?"

Clary frowned. "... _Why_?"

"Just don't," he said. "I thought you were ignoring me, and I said some things I want to take back."

Clary didn't think on his words much, just shrugged them off. "Sure. "I'll call you when I can, Lewis."

"Talk you you later, Fray."

"Love you."

It took Simon a few seconds to say it back. "I love you, too."

Clary hung up, finding herself smiling. She had been itching to talk to Simon since the second she'd left her old house, and even only talking to him for a few minutes was wonderful.

Clary walked back over to where Jace's motorcycle was parked. He'd obviously been waiting on her, but looked patient.

"Who was that?" he asked.

Clary frowned. "Why do you care?"

Jace shrugged. "Just curious. Ready to go in?"

"In where?"

Jace chuckled, pointing to one of the smaller buildings with a neon sign that said "Taki's" in green. "The best diner the U.S."

Clary rolled her eyes. "Sure." Then she realized that diner meant food, and was starving. "Wait, you're taking me out to _lunch_?"

Jace shrugged. "Yeah, why not?"

"I ..." Clary wasn't sure what to say. Should she thank him? "I didn't bring any money."

Jace chuckled lightly. "I'll buy you lunch. Let's go." He started walking towards the diner, and Clary kept behind him so he wouldn't see her blush. Why she was blushing, Clary wasn't sure, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing it.

* * *

They walked into Taki's, where they were greeted by a blonde waitress who's bright blue eyes immediately went to Jace.

"Hi," she chirped, "welcome back, Jace. Table for two?"

Oh, so she _had_ noticed Clary was there.

"Yes," Jace said, and they followed the waitress to a two-person booth towards the center of the diner. When they sat down, Clary looked at the waitress' name tag; it said "Kaelie" on it.

"I'll be right back to take your orders," said Kaelie, setting a menu in front of Clary and handing one to Jace.

He gave her a flirty smile and thanked her before she left. Clary resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

She looked around the diner then. It was a good size, but not enormous. There were booths lining one side of the diner, and a bar lining the other, then there was a hidden kitchen in back, where the pretty waitresses in tiny pink uniforms went in and out of. There were also a couple waitresses giggling among themselves, looking at their table; looking at Jace.

"Charming place, isn't it?" Jace didn't seem to notice the girls staring at him. He shrugged off his leather jacket, revealing his fitted white T-shirt which showed off his muscular chest.

Clary started skimming the menu for something that sounded appetizing. "Those girls over there are staring at you," she told him casually.

Jace didn't even turn to look, just kept his eyes on her. "Of course they are, I'm stunningly attractive."

Clary glanced up at him, blinking a few times before saying anything else. "Haven't you ever heard that _modesty_ is an attractive quality?"

Jace shrugged. "Only from ugly people."

Clary actually rolled her eyes this time.

The waitress, Kaelie, came back then, looking at Jace and ignoring Clary all together. "Ready to order, Jace?"

Jace glanced at Clary, who looked down at the menu and ordered the first thing she saw. "Coconut pancakes, please."

Kaelie glanced at Clary, clearly annoyed that she was there, and jotted it down. "And Jace?" She put on a flirty smile as she turned to him. "Would you like your usual?"

"Yes please," Jace handed Kaelie his menu, and she took Clary's, shooting her a brief glare before leaving.

"Great service they have here," Clary muttered sarcastically, taking a sip of her ice water.

Jace didn't seem to hear her. His eyes were fixed on the table; he looked lost in thought. "You know... my parents used to take me to a diner like this," he said after several seconds of silence. "It was not as nice as this one, though. They would always let me eat pie, no matter what meal we were there for." He looked both sad and happy when he spoke of his parents, but he still didn't look at Clary.

She remembered what Isabelle had said; that Jace saw his parents being murdered when he was ten. She decided not to bring that up, but she was still curious. "What were they like?"

He glanced up at her finally, looking both confused and surprised. "... What were they _like_?"

Clary wondered if that was somehow a strange question.

Jace shrugged. "My mother was overly protective, and my father was confident, I suppose."

"So you take after him." She hadn't realized she'd said it aloud until Jace started chuckling.

"I suppose."

When Kaelie came back with the food, Jace closed up like a flower in the cold. That fragile Jace that was a stranger to Clary was gone now, and the normal Jace was back. He gave Kaelie a smile as he thanked her, and she giggled at his flirty tone.

Clary thought about what Jace had just said, about his parents and the pie. She'd never seen Jace look that fragile before; she didn't know he had it in him.

* * *

When they left Taki's, the clear sky had all but vanished. Instead, the sky was covered with dark gray clouds, and it smelled like it was going to rain.

Jace shrugged on his leather Jacket, turning to look at her and walking backwards slowly through the parking lot. "Don't tell me you want to go home yet." He smiled. "What do you want to do?"

"Um..." Clary thought for a second, going through ideas in her mind. She didn't want to go home, true, but what else was there to do out here? "What would we do?"

Jace shrugged, still walking backwards. "Well I know you don't like music, or we could go to a record store. Those are actually pretty cool."

Clary furrowed her brows. "Who says I don't like music?"

Jace chuckled. "I knew it. Why don't you ever watch us play?"

Clary thought of the other day, when she'd listened from the staircase so no one would see. Clary only shrugged. "Maybe I don't like the way you play it."

Jace chuckled again, putting his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. "Not this again. I'm pretty sure we already established that I'm amazing."

Clary rolled her eyes.

Jace stopped walking backwards when they got to his motorcycle, and so did Clary. "I could play something for you if you'd like."

Clary fought the blush, but it came anyway, which made Jace smile. "Okay, I'll watch- just once, and only if you _don't_ do that."

Jace chuckled. "Deal."

Clary jumped when she heard thunder, and looked at the sky. A single drop of rain landed on her forehead, and she wiped it away with her sleeve. "We should probably-"

"Get back?" Jace finished. "Yeah." He got onto his motorcycle, and Clary got on behind him.

"... Jace?" She said carefully.

"Yes?" he said, mimicking her tone.

Clary almost decided not to say it, but decided she should. "Thank you... for taking me here. It was nice to get to talk to Simon, and to leave the house."

Jace looked over his shoulder at her, a smile creeping across his face, but not his usual kind; this smile was more genuine. "You're welcome."

He started up the motorcycle, and Clary's arms flew around him.

* * *

**What did you think? Did you like it? Was it worth the wait?**

**I haven't decided exactly where this story takes place yet. Anyone have any ideas?**

**So the motorcycle thing, I had to watch a youtube video on how to work one, LOL!**

**Again, should I do school or should I leave it alone? I would have to make a whole new thing if I did. Maybe they could all be home schooled or something? I don't know :P**

**Yes, I cut down the playlist (link to website in profile), but the songs you suggested will all make their ways into the story at some point. Any particular songs you want?**

**Anyone have any requests? I _really_ need them!**

**Twitter Username****: WisterianPrince**

**Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Oh so many reviews! Thank you all SO much! I feel like I'm on top of the world even though I'm in ugly pajamas and sitting at my dining room table.**

**MI cra-cra: Jace was the one who said "hide." sorry if that wasn't clear. As some of you know, writing clearly is not my strong suit :/**

**Guest: OMG really? You checked everyday for two weeks? That's so awesome! I'm glad you like the story :)**

**So I've decided that there will be no school! It doesn't have anything to do with the plot, and it would just get in the way. Not to mention the fact that they're in the middle of nowhere, and getting to school would take a while.**

**Okay, here it is! Chapter 6!**

* * *

Clary sat on the couch in the basement, watching the boys play _People Are Strange_ by _The Doors_. Clary liked The Doors; they were one of her favorite bands. And she had to admit, they were doing a killer job of covering it, though Clary would never tell Jace that.

Isabelle, Maia, and Max were watching, too, so Clary felt less awkward sitting there, but she still felt weird.

Clary glanced over at Max, whose facial expression made him look like he thought Jace was a god.

Clary glanced over at Jace, who was looking at her with a crooked smile as he sang. Clary blushed and looked at the floor. She tugged self-consciously at her braid, wondering why he was watching her. Because he'd won, maybe?

Yesterday, Clary had agreed to watch them play, but now she regretted it. She was embarrassed to be sitting there, listening to them play, though she couldn't figure out why.

The song ended, and Maia spoke first. "Wow, you guys are getting better."

"How that is possible," said Jace, "I have yet to figure out."

Clary rolled her eyes and pretended to be interested in her ink-stained fingernails.

Isabelle and Maia got off the couch, and a few conversations started happening at once that Clary wasn't a part of. Max still sat beside her, bobbing his feet to the same rhythm the song had been.

"Did you like it?" said a voice, sitting on Clary's other side. It was Sebastian.

Clary shrugged, not willing to admit that it was actually excellent. Sebastian had been on bass, so he'd had a big part in the song.

"So no then?" he had a bit of a smile on his face, as if he didn't believe her. How _Jace-ish_.

"It was fine," she said finally, looking where everyone else was, not really wanting to be there anymore. Jace was watching her, she noticed, an amused look on his face. She settled on looking at the floor.

"You like music?" He asked, sounding closer.

Clary glanced up to see that he _was_ sitting slightly closer to her. She leaned away slightly. "I guess."

Sebastian smiled. He had black eyes, and matching hair with a large nose, but his irregular features came together nicely. "I know this great record store off the mountain," he said, "we should go sometime."

"Leave Clary alone, Sebastian," said Max, leaning around Clary and giving him a stern look.

Sebastian waved Max away. "Go away Max, this is adult stuff."

Clary's eyes widened at this, and she abruptly stood up. "You know what, I'm good."

Max narrowed his eyes at Sebastian through his glasses. Sebastian just gave Clary a crooked smile. "Oh come on, don't you want to get off the mountain? It'll be fun, promise."

Clary shook her head. "No thanks." Then she walked away, going upstairs to get away from the uncomfortable situation she was just in.

* * *

"How are you?" Jocelyn asked Clary when they were chopping vegetables together that night.

"What do you mean?" Clary asked. She was still a little mad at Jocelyn for moving them out here, and it showed in her voice. Jocelyn didn't seem to notice.

"I mean how are you doing? I haven't asked you that in a while." Jocelyn began chopping a cucumber into thin slices with her steady hands.

"Fine," Clary muttered. She noticed she was digging her fingernails into the red pepper she was cutting, and let it go.

"Are you making friends?" Jocelyn kept trying.

"No."

"Oh, I'm sure that isn't true." Jocelyn finished cutting the cucumber, and tossed it into the large salad serving bowl. "I heard you played flashlight tag with everyone last week."

Clary shrugged. "That doesn't mean I have friends."

Jocelyn sighed, turning to Clary and putting her fist on her hip. "Are you going to be mad at me forever, Clary?"

Clary turned to her mother and gave her a tight smile. "I'm not mad," she lied.

Jocelyn sighed. "This is a nice place, Clary. You'll grow to like it, I'm sure."

Clary scoffed, turning back to the cutting board. She angrily chopped the rest of the pepper, then walked into the foyer, plopped down on the couch and took out her phone.

She started scrolling through pictures of her and Simon, which made her feel a bit better, but it mostly reminded her that she couldn't see him.

Someone plopped down beside her, but she didn't look up to see who it was.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Jace asked, looking at her phone.

Clary shut off the screen and stuffed it into her pocket. "What's it to you?"

Jace shrugged. "Just curious."

Clary looked at the marble staircase, trying to collect herself. Maybe she shouldn't be so angry all the time. Where would that get her?

Clary took a slow deep breath, feeling slightly better.

"So is he?" Jace asked.

Clary let out an exasperated sigh. "No. He's my best friend."

She glanced at Jace to see him nod slightly. "So what did you think of the music?" he asked.

"You mean your band practice?"

Jace nodded.

Clary shrugged. "It was good," she said quickly.

Jace raised his eyebrows. "_Good_?"

"I'm not saying it again." Clary was surprised to find a slight smile on her lips.

Jace chuckled.

Clary eyed him. He had a strange look on his face. "What?"

"You're something else, you know that?"

Clary furrowed her brows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jace laughed this time. "A good thing, Clary, don't worry."

And before anything else could be said, there was a loud crash, and everything went black. Clary gasped, looking around, but still seeing nothing.

"Did the power just go out?" A man's voice called from the kitchen.

"I think so," said someone else's voice, coming down the stairs. It sounded like Maryse to Clary. "Can someone get some flashlights or something?"

"You're not afraid of the dark, are you?" Jace teased. He sounded a lot closer than he'd been before, and Clary could feel his warm breath on her ear as he spoke.

She stiffened, but her tone stayed flat. "No."

"You seemed pretty scared when we were in the forest."

Clary turned towards Jace's voice, narrowing her eyes, though he couldn't see. "I wasn't _scared_," she said angrily.

Jace chuckled. "You seemed pretty scared to me, the way you followed me around like a lost puppy."

"I _followed_ you only because you knew the way back," Clary snapped, her voice still low, "not because I don't like the dark."

"So you _do_ like it?"

Clary rolled her eyes. Why was he so _annoying_? "I don't really have much of a preference. Why do you care anyway?"

"I don't."

"Then why are you asking?" Clary leaned forwards only the slightest bit, then realized how close they'd been when her nose brushed against his.

They both went dead silent, and Clary shot back, falling onto the floor and grunting on impact. Her spine hit the cold, marble floor, sending a sharp pain up her back.

"Are you alright?" Jace's voice asked, sounding a little closer to serious than she was used to- coming from him, anyway.

"Fine," she growled. Clary sat up and rubbed at her spine.

Suddenly, Clary could see again. The light from someone's flashlight illuminated the room just enough for her to see Jace kneeling in front of her, offering a hand.

She shied away, keeping herself up by her hands.

The corner of Jace's lips curved up at one side. "It's just a hand, Clary. No strings attached."

Clary hesitated, but after a few seconds, she took it, and he helped her up. Once she was up, it took Jace a second to let go of her hand, but she didn't pull away.

"Here," said Jon, coming up and handing Jace a flashlight, then walking off somewhere else to pass more out.

Jace switched it on, and Clary squinted. That's when she remembered something rather important that she'd forgotten.

"My window," she muttered.

Jace furrowed his brow, but Clary had already taken off up the stairs.

She ran to her door, and ran into her bedroom. She could barely see anything, but she could tell her window was open, and the room smelled like rain.

Clary ran to her bed, which was getting soaked from the rain coming in from her wide open window.

"Damn it!" Clary shoved the window down just as the flashlight's illumination came to the room, and Jace was at the door.

Clary could really see the damage done now. Almost her entire bed was completely soaked. She grabbed the outer sheet corner, and yanked it back, confirming that her mattress was completely soaked, too.

That's when Clary saw her her sketchpad sitting on top of the covers, too.

A small gasp came between Clary's lips as a knot formed in her stomach. She carefully picked up her sketchpad, and opened it to the first page. The water had smeared the led over the entire thing, turning it into an unidentifiable glob.

First, Clary felt sad, like she was gonna cry, but that was quickly replaced by anger. "Son of a-" She gripped one of the heavily soaked pillows, trying to toss it across the room, but she hit the lamp on her nightstand, and it smashed on the ground.

"Clary, stop." Jace was suddenly behind her, wrapping his arms around her so she couldn't move her arms.

Clary squirmed in his arms. "You idiot! I didn't do it on _purpose_!"

"Nevertheless," Jace said in her ear, "you broke something."

Clary squirmed more, kicking at his shins. "Let go!"

"Not until you settle down."

After several more seconds of trying to get loose from his grip, Clary figured out there was no way she was getting out. She let herself relax, and waited a few more seconds until he let go.

"There," he said. "Now, What happened?" His voice was gentle, and surprised her, but she didn't think on it much.

Clary turned towards her bed and crossed her arms over her chest.

Jace's flashlight turned to the bed. "Oh." He reached out and touched the soaking bedding, which made a _squish_ sound when he did so. "Wow, that's..."

Clary sighed in annoyance. "That means I'm sleeping on the floor tonight."

Jace scoffed. "On the floor you just broke a ceramic lamp on? Yeah, that's not going to happen."

Jace turned her glare on him. "What are you, my mother?"

Jace glanced at her, a crooked smile on his face. "You could always sleep in my room."

Clary rolled her eyes and turned back to her bedding. "Yeah, you'd love that, wouldn't you?"

"... I wasn't implying that I would be in it with you."

At this, Clary looked back at Jace, confused.

He was... looking at her. Not with a raised eyebrow, or with a smirk, or anything. He was just... looking.

Clary was very confused now, and just a bit suspicious. "... What's in it for you?"

Finally, Jace chuckled. "You have trust issues, you know that? What if I'm just trying to be nice?"

"Because that isn't who you are."

Jace raised his eyebrows. "So you think you know me now, Clarissa?"

Clary pressed her lips into an annoyed line. "More than you know me."

Jace raised one eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Clary decided, at the last second, not to go further into this. He probably didn't know she knew about his parents, and that probably wouldn't be a good thing to just bring up.

"That's what I thought," said Jace. "Now, hold this." He passed her the flashlight, and walked around to the other side of her bed, then started stripping the sheets.

Clary felt frozen, she was so taken aback. All she could do was watch as he gathered her dripping bedding in his arms, and took it out of the room.

"Be right back," he said over his shoulder.

Clary blinked once he was gone. What was happening?

* * *

Clary had been baffled when Jace had helped her lay towels over her mattress, put wax paper in between the paper sheets of her sketchbook, and sweep up the broken lamp.

However, Clary was even more baffled that he'd been serious about lending her his room. She stood in the entrance now, staring. This wasn't exactly what Clary had expected for Jace.

Jace stood in the room, flashlight in hand, and turned to her, a crooked smile on his face. "I won't bite, promise."

Clary took one, hesitant step into the room and looked around more.

The room was clean. Nearly spotless, and there was almost no personalization in it. The walls appeared to be a neutral pale green- probably never painted- and there was a dresser, a desk, a shelf, and a bed- which was bigger than Clary's was.

Jace chuckled, looking at her expression. "Not what you were expecting?"

Clary shook her head slowly as she looked around.

Jace chuckled again. "I can stay on the couch downstairs. Unless, of course, you want me to-"

"Please don't finish that sentence," Clary said. She wasn't so much annoyed anymore. She must be getting used to his teasing.

Jace chuckled again. "Alright. See you in the morning." And with that, he handed her the flashlight, then left.

* * *

**For those of you who don't already know, I'm going to Europe in April. That means I won't be able to be on the computer for most of April! :( I'll try to get on when I can, but don't expect a lot of updates. Sorry guys! I'll update as much as I can before then.**

**Okay, as for the story, any more requests? They help me write faster!**

**Also, Jace is writing a song for Clary. Sort of. She's inspiring him, rather. What song should it be? I can't write my own, I'm not _that _level of creative :P**

**My twitter username is WisterianPrince. I post stuff on there, so feel free to follow me!**

**Oh yeah, did you guys like this chapter?**

**I'll update soon! (I hope)**


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